Well, I’ve been apart from you and your mother for two days now and I can’t say that I like it. I’ve been lucky enough to Skype with your mom and she’s held you up for me to inspect. You’re getting bigger everyday it seems and when I get back I may not recognize you at all! I hope that’s not the case, but in all reality you probably will not recognize me. Being in the Middle East isn’t the worst thing in the world, but being apart from you and your mother is pretty high on the list for me. I guess this is part of being an Air Force dad and I don’t think I realized how tough it was going to be. I’m pretty sure my crew is already tired of me talking about you. If I worked in a place where I could bring my phone, I’m certain that they would get super angry about the number of videos I would try and subject them to. What can I say, I’m proud of you and your mom.

I think I have a million things to say, but for now I just wanted to break the ice about being apart from you. I fly my first mission soon, and I’m sort of excited about it in both good and bad ways. I guess everything is like that. For now, be nice to your mother and know that I love you.

Dad